Grab Bag
by TappinCastlefan
Summary: Chapter 9: There was a thief in the 12th precinct. Possibly thieves.  And Kate Beckett was going to do something about it.  *Previously titled 'The Moments That Make Us'*
1. Twist of Fate

_Thanks to my fabulous friend **toepad**, **who gave me a prompt I got on a crazy writing stint tonight. Hope you like it! 'Cause I had fun with it. **_

_**Prompt: "Just hold still, this is gonna hurt." **__(Be forewarned, my usage of said prompt is not verbatim. I had to alter it to make it fit my crazy stream of thought.)  
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"Castle, will you put me down! I'm perfectly capable to walk on my own."

Castle looked down at the flustered detective, currently cradled in his arms. There were tears on the elbows of her suit jacket from where she caught herself against the pavement, and scuffs along the legs of her pants and the tops of her boots.

"And what exactly is your definition of 'walking', Beckett?" He quirked his eyebrow at her. "Because the last time we tried this, you know, downstairs, getting out of the car, you tripped and nearly made your situation worse. And let's not forget that innocent door handle that you nearly ripped off when you tried to balance yourself."

As best as she could, Beckett shot him one of those patented death glares. However, given her state of dependence, it merely came off as frustration.

"Will you just," she heaved the words out, as if disgusted by their taste, "hurry up so that we can get this over with?"

"Would you just relax?" Calmly, but quickly, he walked down the short hall from the elevator, taking a sharp right into the break room. "It's not like it's the end of the world." With a sigh he gently dropped her on the couch, pulling up a chair in front of her.

"Castle! I have work to do! I can't be stuck here because you seem to think I require extensive medical care."

"Beckett, I'm a father. I know how these things go." Without hesitation he reached down, pulling her left leg up overtop the chair. "You think it's all perfectly fine, but if you don't treat it right, fast enough, you end up exacerbating the problem."

Seriously annoyed now, she watched as he turned his back on her to go rummaging around in the cabinets beneath the coffee maker. "Really Castle? 'Exacerbating'? I know you're a writer, but who uses that in normal conversation these days?"

He looked up from his squat beside the counter, one door hanging open, and gave her a pointed stare. "It's really not that hard to have a developed vocabulary. I don't understand why people seem to think that's something so odd to aspire for."

Irritated, Beckett blew strands of hair, no doubt set free by…well, her fight with gravity, out of her face, throwing her head back against the top of the couch cushion. "Can you just hurry up? I'd like to go back to being a Detective sometime before the week's through."

Castle decided that rather than argue with her more, it'd be wiser for him to simply put experience to good use. He sat the first-aid kit down on the floor next to the chair holding up her leg, and stepped over to the freezer.

Knowing his own luck with injury, he had stocked the precinct with ample supplies. And thank goodness for that, he thought.

He doubled back, bringing two cold gel packs with him.

Out of the corner of his vision he saw Beckett's eyes widen as he put them down next to the chair. "Castle, what are you doing with those?" There was a slight waver in her voice that he had never heard before.

He wasn't sure whether to be amused or concerned.

"I reiterate, yes that's a fancy schmancy word," he smirked, "relax. Just hold still," he tenderly reached for her left foot, bringing it into his lap when he sat, "this should only hurt a little." His head tilted, eying the ankle with concern, "Unless you did more damage than I think you did."

"What do you mean?" Panicked, she tried to push herself up and away, but the writer-turned-physician held firm. "I didn't do anything Castle. I just need to walk it off."

"Beckett." His eyes caught hers, and in them, she saw nothing but legitimate care. "Just humor me. Let me take a look."

"Fine." She settled back into the couch, arms folded tightly across her chest. "But who gave you authority to play doctor?"

His hand carefully pulled down the zipper on her boot, ever so slightly to avoid any unnecessary movement. "Um…that would be Alexis." His eyes were still focused on her ankle. "When she was seven she fell off a swing in the park. Sprained her arm in three places." A little laugh escaped his otherwise tight lips. "It still cracks if she turns it just the right way."

"I'm sorry, Castle, I should've-"

"Don't worry about it. You couldn't have known. But trust me, bones aren't toys. They may be harder to break, but they're a hell of a lot harder to put back together." He patted the top of her foot. "Don't mess with them. You ready?"

At first all that made it out of her mouth was silence. It took a second for a quiet 'yea' to partner up with a nod as her hand gripped the metal arm of the couch.

Slowly, Castle moved his right hand to support the underside of her calf, while his left shimmied her shoe off of her foot. His face scrunched up when he saw the tall black sock underneath.

"May I?" He eyed her almost apprehensively.

She nodded again, "You've already gotten this far. No sense in stopping now."

Her leg was no balanced on his thigh as he carefully pushed up her pant leg, his warm fingers dipping between the thin cotton socks and her leg. Her stomach fluttered a little at the contact. Just perfect, she thought, mentally cursing herself.

The second he reached her ankle she tensed. The simple little tilt he applied to her heel was enough to have her chewing on the inside of her cheek. Her eyes clamped shut in shock, not opening until the cold wave of pain blew over.

Then, her eyes popped open at the sight of the reality.

Her ankle was an angry shade of red, with splashes of purple beginning to make their appearance. There was a lump on the side of her foot that she was certain had not been there this morning, and a few smatterings of blood that seemed to match both the rip in her sock, and the teeth of the zipper on the inside of her boot.

Alright, she silently admitted, maybe he was right.

"Can you uh…try and wiggle your toes?"

She looked at him with hesitation. With all her might she willed her toes to move, but the best she could muster, without sending another flare of pain through her leg, was more of a twitch.

"Alright," Castle looked at her, "I'm just going to clean up this cut and wrap it for you. You should be able to work just fine today, but I really think you should go get it looked at by a doctor."

"You're not doubting your skill, now are you, Castle?" It was the best shot at sarcasm she could render.

"Of course not," and there was that smile that made her head fuzz over, "but your ankle's already the size of a baseball. It's probably wise to go have an X-Ray taken. Just to make sure nothing's broken."

"Castle, I just fell! What's so complicated about that?"

"Beckett," his voice was stern, "I saw what happened. You took a full on fall down a flight of stairs. I saw how your foot twisted on the railing. I'm surprised you were able to stand up enough to wait for me to get to you."

"I don't need you to rescue me," she spat.

"I know you don't. You don't need a hero." He leaned over, picking up one of the cold packs, "But that doesn't mean you're not allowed to call for back up now and then."

She had no counter argument, and couldn't help but think that he had a point. Ever since they started this dating thing she caught herself getting tied up in her own made up contradictions.

She wanted space, but didn't want to be alone.

She didn't want to fight, but she wanted someone to debate with.

She needed work, but she also needed something – someone - to come home to.

She wanted her independence, but she wanted someone to care for her.

And as she watched, and winced, as Castle pressed the ice packs to her ankle, she found herself completely happy that there was someone who cared _about_ her.

A tinge of guilt flooded through her. She was mentally kicking herself for attacking him like she did, when all he wanted to do was make sure she was okay.

He looked so cute like this. Her foot resting in his lap as he reached for an ace bandage with one hand, holding the ice still with the other. His brow was furrowed in concentration, and there was a long piece of gauze hanging from between his teeth.

His nimble fingers quickly had the gauze wrapped around her ankle, underneath the ice, and the ace bandage wrapped snuggly around the whole setup.

"Hey," she whispered, as he pinned on the last fastener, "thanks."

Castle smiled, yet again making her stomach flip. With a kiss to the top of her now bandaged ankle he looked up at her, "No problem."

She sighed again, adjusting the sleeves of her now torn jacket. Without a word her boyfriend – how weird did that sound? – stood and returned everything to its proper place. Except for the chair, of course, supporting her leg.

"I'm sorry I got to upset with you before." Almost timidly, Kate leaned into his side when he took up a place beside her. "I just don't like being hurt, and…" she paused, "…I'm not used to having someone help me."

Castle leaned down, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I know. I know you a lot better than you think I do. Why do you think I don't let any of your threats phase me anymore?"

"Because you're crazy?" They laughed. Rick, arm around her shoulders, pulled her in closer.

"Only for you."

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_Yeah, so, this just kind of flew out of my fingers once I got typing. I hope you enjoyed it. Just a little fluffy bit to tide us all over until Monday. I'm leaving this as 'incomplete', with the thought that if anyone wants to send me a prompt or thought, I'll try and keep writing in my spare time. So...if you do have a prompt or suggestion, or whatever you want to call it, send me a pm, and I'll see what I can think of._

Let me know what you think! You guys are fantastic!

_**Tappin**_

_**=) **_


	2. Trust The Right Source

_Horray for a continuation! I'm having fun with this. Again, if you have a sentence prompt or any idea, let me know. However, my weekends are my only free times for writing. Chapter 2's prompt comes from cookme25._

**Prompt: "Wikipedia isn't always right."**

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An assortment of snacks and drinks were spread out over the coffee table in Kate Beckett's living room. They had argued on what to buy when standing in the grocery store earlier that evening, and ultimately ended up buying one of everything they had been debating over. There were boxes of candy, bags of chips, containers of gummy bears, gummy worms, and what could pass for a mountain of chocolate.

Sure, it was more than they'd normally be willing to spend on junk food, but hey, it had been a while since they had an evening to themselves.

The two had decided to limit themselves to one bottle of wine to share, stocking up on water for the remainder of the evening.

Ten-thirty on Saturday night found them both sitting cross-legged between the table and the couch, picking contentedly from the snacks, listening to syndicated sitcoms on TV Land.

"So, I have a question." Kate reached for the wine, popped the cork.

"What's that?" Lanie held the glasses out in front of her for Kate to pour into.

"What's the deal with you and Esposito?" She caught the knowing look in Lanie's eyes before they fidgeted as she put down their drinks.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh come on. Everyone knows that something's going on with the two of you." She grabbed a handful of skittles, "And Ryan already told me that he talked to Esposito about it, so you might as well spill."

"What's there to spill? I like him. He likes me. We're…spending time together."

"Oh," the detective raised her eyebrow, "you're 'spending time together'?"

Lanie dropped her hand to the top of her thigh. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's just that every time one of you goes missing at work, so does the other."

"Hey, at least we have the decency to leave the room. Unlike you and Castle, who seem to have no problem eye-sexing all over the place, in front of the rest of us."

Kate nearly coughed up her wine with her friend's description. "Excuse me? 'Eye-sexing'? What kind of verb is that?"

Lanie pointed an accusatory finger. "An accurate one, let me tell you." She took a bite from an open Hershey's bar, enjoying the sweetness before continuing. "Kate, everyone knows that you're both just waiting for the other one to get up the nerve to say something. Why don't you just talk to him already? Tell him how you feel."

The ME took a drink and took a few pretzels from the bowl they had been poured into.

For a moment Kate wasn't quite sure what to say. It just wasn't as simple as Lanie seemed to think it was. For multiple reasons. She had a hard time hiding the smile that she was dying to show, but now was her only chance to have her fun.

"Lanie," she sighed, "Castle's had how many relationships?" She paused, catching her friends thoughtful look, "Exactly, too many to count."

"But how many has he had since he started working with you? Way less than you give him credit for, and I have a feeling that you know it. There's got to be a reason for that."

"Like what?" She exclaimed.

"Like, he's so obviously in love with you! And don't even try to tell me that you don't feel anything for him. You've gone out with him like…4 times already."

"That's all been stuff for Nikki Heat."

"Bullshit." She spat. "I read that you two have been going out on your own little adventures for the past two months. Seen pictures too."

"Oh please." She huffed, popping a gummy bear into her mouth. "You spend way too much time on the internet." She teasingly eyed her friend over the rim of her glass. "You do know that Wikipedia isn't always right, right? In fact," she pointed out, "it's hardly _ever_ right."

Lanie's mouth twisted up into an irritated curl, her fingers threading and toying with a piece of strawberry licorice. "Are you seriously gonna use that excuse with me right now?"

"I'm just saying, you shouldn't trust everything you read on there."

"Uh huh…and you have evidence to support your argument?"

Kate looked at her friend as she stood to take their now empty glasses to the kitchen. "Of course. I'd never make an argument without proof."

Lanie sat, leaning against the sofa, positively stunned. Her mouth hung low, the twizzler in her hand, forgotten. She watched as Kate made her way into the kitchen. Her thoughts were racing.

"Alright, girl." She sprang up from the floor, running into the kitchen. "What in the hell kind of proof are you talking about? 'Cause I'm thinking you're not telling me something."

Kate was standing in front of the sink, filling the two glasses with soapy water. "All I mean is that you shouldn't rely on the internet for information. It's not reliable. Not to mention the fact that you could just ask the subject of your curiosity." She playfully rolled her eyes. "She's standing right in front of you."

"Fine then," Lanie crossed her arms over her chest, "explain yourself. You and Castle. Go."

"Whatever you read is wrong. We have not been 'going out' for two months."

"Well, if you say that's the truth, I believe you."

"Good, I'm glad you trust me," Kate stepped over, giving her friend a quick side hug and a grin before moving past her to go back to the living room, "because we've actually been dating for six."

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_So? Thoughts? I'd love to hear what you fantastic readers have to say. _

_Tappin_

_=) _


	3. Beware of Bored Buyers

___I'm totally, completely, utterly stunned by the response that this story has gotten! Seriously! It's had like...over 1,000 hits, and a ton of favorites and alerts. So for that, and all the wonderful reviews you all have been leaving, I say THANK YOU VERY MUCH!_

_And yay! Another chapter! This prompt comes from **ajksmusic**!_

**Prompt: "Castle, what in the hell did you buy that for?"**

(aftermath for 3x09 – 'Close Encounters of the Murderous Kind')

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Rick Castle sat at the kitchen island, laptop open to his absolute favorite website. Eyes wide, he perused the pages of search results, amazed at what one could find at Amazon dot COM.

"Richard, Dear, what are you planning on buying now?" His mother sighed, resting her fuchsia and gold handbag on the counter next to him.

"Nothing for you to be concerned with, Mother." His eyes still focused on the screen, "I'm just…following up from our last case."

The older woman rested a hand on his shoulder, leaning over to read the display. "Are you kidding me? You're going to waste one hundred and fifty dollars on…" she waved her hand dramatically, "that thing?"

"It's not 'waste'." He argued. "It's an investment."

She picked up her belongings again, moving towards the stairs. "Call it what you will, Darling, but if you don't really need it… then it's a waste."

Amused, Castle turned on his barstool. "And just how do you know that I don't really need this?" The playful twitch of his lips, and the cocky way he threaded his fingers together had his mother rolling her eyes.

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response."

Castle watched, still satisfied with his purchase, as she went up to the room. He turned back to his laptop, his mind churning with fantasies.

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The amber rays of the New York sunset bled through the windows and splayed over the worn, wood flooring of the 12th precinct's homicide division.

The room was quiet, only dull whispers and the hum of computers filling the air.

That…and Castle's mutterings as he played with his…toy.

He was sitting in his own chair, but was perched on the edge, leaning to his left over Beckett's desk. The detective had left him to his on devices several minutes ago, with exclamations that she needed a break from playing babysitter.

In his hands was his latest acquisition. A six-inch tall cylinder sliced and sealed on an angle. The translucent plastic let him see the battery and wiring on the inside – and the sensor.

The writer was so caught up in his imagination and the object that he didn't notice the footfalls coming in his direction, or the person now standing behind him, on the opposite side of Beckett's desk.

"Eh-hm."

Startled, he turned around to see his favorite medical examiner watching him, file in her hands. He scrambled with his hands to put the device down on a stable surface, questioning her with his eyes.

"What'cha got there Castle?"

"Oh," he looked down at the desk, "it's nothing. Just something I bought the other day. It came in this morning, so I was just having a little fun with it."

Lanie got a better look of the object, tilted her head in confusion. "Well, uh…what is it?"

Castle's fingers danced along the rim of the plastic. "It's a UFO detector."

"Castle, what in the hell did you buy that for!" She took the liberty of swatting him upside the head with the file in her hands.

"Well," he whined, "after the last case, I got…curious." He said with a huff. "And it's not like I was buying drugs or guns or anything. Just having some fun!"

"Fun?" She looked him up and down, sitting in his place beside her friend's desk, playing with a supposed UFO detector. "Find any UFOs yet?"

"Har-har, very funny Dr. Parish. But I will have you know that extra terrestrial beings are known to be active after dark when orbiting Earth. The shadow helps their cloaking devices, whereas the visibility of the sun can be dangerous."

"So, you brought that thing to the precinct with you…why?"

"Because it's incredibly likely that by the time I leave here today it will be dark out. And I want to try it out. You see, it's designed to detect magnetic and electromagnetic disturbances, and alert me to them with flashing LED lights and a beeping sound-"

"And just what to you plan on doing if you do 'detect' a UFO?"

Castle looked dumbfounded. "Huh. You know I hadn't really gotten that far in my planning."

"Why don't you give that some thought then, Castle?" Lanie looked around the quiet bullpen. "Where's Kate?"

"Oh!" He broke from his new train of thought, "She said she needed a break from my 'illogical, obnoxious, childish fantasies'." He pointed over his shoulder, past Lanie, "Pretty sure she went to escape in the land of caffeine."

"Mhmm. And how long has she been gone?"

"'Bout ten minutes. Oh look!" He shot straight up in his chair, gently dropping the UFO detector into his lap. "Detective! Your ears must've been ringing!"

Kate walked swiftly around her friend, sharing her eye roll, cup of coffee in hand, before sitting at her desk.

"Maybe it's your new toy emitting supersonic frequencies."

"That's not how it works, Beckett, and you know it."

"Hey, Lanie. What've you got for me?"

Lanie had to stifle a laugh at her friend's obvious irritation with her shadow. "I just need your signature on a couple of forms." She handed over the file, amazed at how quickly Kate scribbled on the sheets. "And I was wondering if you wanted to go grab a bite to eat. Somewhere else. Away from the precinct?"

Both of their eyes darted to Castle, who was rolling the ridiculous device back and forth between his hands.

"I figured you could use the break."

Relief washed over Kate's face in an instant, and before Lanie could even open her mouth to ask for an answer, Kate was up and pulling on her coat.

"I take it that's a 'yes'?"

"Lanie, you have no idea!"

"Trust me honey I do."

From his position in his chair, Castle looked back and forth between the two women's faces. He could tell from the way Kate lit up at the invitation to leave, he assumed he wasn't invited.

"Did you get all the details too?"

"Oh yes. Though I must admit, I wish I had the cash to spare on spontaneous, useless purchases."

"Hey!" He piped up. "It is _not_ useless! This is the only way I'll know if there's a UFO coming to invade Earth."

"Come on Lanie," Kate grabbed the ME's arm, yanking her towards the elevator, "if we keep trying to argue it'll never end. We've got to get out while we still can."

The two swiftly made their way to the edge of the bullpen. "Castle," she called over her shoulder, "I don't want to see that thing, or hear a word about it after I get back."

"Fine," he yelled after them, as the stepped into the elevator, waving the UFO detector above his head, "but don't expect an invitation to my safe house after this warns me of an alien invasion!"

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_Ok. So I really love this one. I had a lot of fun with it. And yes. There are actual UFO detectors for sale on Amazon! I did research! We know Nathan Fillion's an Amazon shopper, so I feel like Castle should be too. I actually watched that particular episode while I wrote too. I really hope you love it as much as I do._

_Here's my little notice that I generally do not get time to write during the week, but you never know. So, again, if you have a prompt for me, or an idea or quote, whatever you wanna send me, please feel free, and as soon as I can I'll get working on it. I'm actually quite happy that I've gotten out three chapters in three days._

_Tappin_

_=)_


	4. Sweet Secrets

_From **twinmomma78!**_

**_Prompt: _"Because this is the one thing that you DON'T have to share with your significant other."  
**

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"I just feel like it's weird. Keeping something from him, you know?"

"Lanie, please!" Kate exclaimed as they pulled the big afghan off of the back of the couch. "It's not like you're hiding a big, life-changing secret. It's just how we like to spend our Friday nights."

The two were both clad in their relaxed jeans and t-shirts, padding around Kate's apartment. After they had both gotten through their paperwork and other annoying post-work errands, they met here, as they did every Friday night, for their usual girl's night.

Lanie sighed, pulling the blanket up over her lap. "Castle doesn't know that we do this, does he?"

Kate's stare could've driven daggers through her friend's head. Without a comment she reached for the remote, turning on her DVR. She plopped down on the couch and grabbed her share of the blanket before answering.

"Lanie. I told you. This is _our_ thing. Ours. Castle doesn't know about this either."

"Good. How is it you don't care? He's your freaking boyfriend! I thought that meant something."

Kate idly flipped through the menu and the list of recordings. "It does. It means that I care about him, and I care about Alexis. We talk a lot, sure, but he doesn't need to know every little thing about me."

They both leaned forward, over the gap between the couch and the coffee table, going for their twin pints of Brownie Batter ice cream.

"Especially because this is the one thing that you don't have to share with your significant other."

Another sigh escaped Lanie's lips. "I guess you're right-"

"Really? You guess? Because I know I'm right."

"Oh shut up. They'd only tease us about it anyway." With an angry grip, she stabbed at the desert. "I'm sorry, I'm being ridiculous. Just press play. We've got five hours of us time ahead of us."

"Glad you're over that little panic. You must have it worse than I thought."

"What are you yammering on about now?" Lanie's tone was irritated, her eyes rolling over to stare at her friend.

"Well," Kate swallowed the spoonful of ice cream she had just eaten, "apparently you care about what Esposito thinks a lot more than I thought. It's an almost refreshing change."

Lanie shrugged.

"I say 'almost' because it's kind of freaking me out a little. I've never seen you like this before."

"What can I say?" Looking deep into the pint, she made little bent x's with the tip of her spoon, "We're really happy. I don't want anything to mess that up."

"Lanie, I get it. I do, but I don't think he would dump you just because we like to watch 'Temptation Lane' together almost every Friday night. And if by the incredibly low, low chance that he does, remember that I have a gun, and you can get rid of the evidence."

"True." They laughed as the opening theme began to dance across the screen.

The two women hummed along with the piano as the gentle, dramatic chords played out, as images of the actors that had become a part of their lives faded in and out with that soap-opera style fade.

Ever since accidentally discovering their mutual love for the show – over a victim who looked eerily similar to Ashley Conrad – the two had been watching a week's worth of episodes at someone apartment every week.

"Can you believe we were just on the set a few days ago?"

Lanie immediately turned, a blinding grin on her face. "I know right? I was trying so hard to focus, but I just wanted to go off wandering! It was so surreal!"

"Gosh, yes! And now we have to watch the show, knowing that someone was murdered in _that_ room?" She pointed to the room and closet in question on the screen. "It's weird!"

Again their giggles filled the room, only sharing the space with the dialogue on screen.

"I am so jealous girl," Lanie took another spoonful as Mandy Bronson's character wandered through some park, "you got to meet some of them. All I did was autopsy a dead writer's body."

The corners of Kate's moth twitched upward. "I didn't tell you what Castle got for me did I?"

Lanie chose to answer with a stare, willing the information from her friend's mouth.

"One sec."

The detective rose from the couch and hurried into her bedroom. When she came back, there was a manila folder in her hands. Still smiling, she handed it over.

"No way!" Lanie's eyes grew wide looking at the autographed picture of the Temptation Lane cast. "He really got this for you?" Kate shrugged with a smile. "How?"

"He says he knows a guy who knows a guy. Between you and me I think that Martha may have had something to do with it, too. She's been awfully friendly with Lance Hastings since the murder."

Lanie's mouth gaped. "Do you…do you think you could be the most fantastic friend on the planet and ask Castle to get one for me?"

"Already did."

With a shriek of excitement Kate found herself trapped in a hug.

"God! You're wonderful!"

They couldn't do anything but laugh. With a dramatic wave of her hand, Kate replied, "I know." They rearranged their blanket and ice cream again, focusing their attention back to the screen.

"Now come on, we've still got four and a half hours to catch up on."

Hours later, the blanket was folded over the back of the couch again, the empty ice cream containers were in the garbage, and the DVR was empty.

The two fans were standing in the kitchen, sipping from bottles of water, after divulging their respective theories for the next week's episodes, when there was a knock at the door.

"It's nearly eleven o'clock. Who the hell is knocking on your door?"

"I don't know." Kate rested her water on the counter, and moved to look through the peephole of her front door. "You have got to be kidding me," she whispered.

"What?" Lanie moved to her side, looking through the hole when Kate shifted.

"What is wrong with them?"

"We're going to find out, aren't we?"

The pair stood side by side, opening the door to reveal Castle and Esposito, both looking incredibly smug.

"You know," Castle started, "we would've been happy to join you if you wanted us to."

"And what makes you think we would've wanted you to, Castle?" Lanie folded her arms across her chest.

"Yeah, how can we talk about you if you're here?"

"Oh. Really?" Esposito shifted his weight from foot to foot, his hands behind his back. "Taking time out of your soap marathon to talk about us? We must be pretty important then."

Kate huffed. "What exactly do you two want? Because we were kind of…" she was forced to trail off as Castle stepped closer into her space.

"We wanted to surprise you." Both Castle and Esposito were now only inches from Kate and Lanie's faces.

"We brought you something." Esposito dropped a gentle peck to his girlfriend's forehead.

The girls smiled in surprise as each man produced a bouquet of daisies. Understated and sweet, just how they both liked displays of affection.

"Thank you," Kate wrapped her arms around Castle's neck with a gentle kiss to his lips, "you're sweet."

"Those dammed detective skills of yours," Lanie leaned into Esposito's side, "I'm never gonna be able to stay mad at you, am I?"

"That's the plan." He smirked as she rolled her eyes. "Come on, can we head home, or do you two still have some Temptation Lane to watch?" There was a twitch to his eyebrows, and a teasing smile on his face.

Both women proceeded to slap him in the arm.

"Yes, we can go." Lanie took her purse from the table next to the door. She looked back as Esposito led her down the hall with his arm around her shoulders. "I'll talk to you tomorrow Kate."

"Night." She closed her front door, turning back to find Castle leaning against her kitchen counter.

"Alright Mr. Mystery Writer, how'd you find us out."

"Well," he sighed, "it wasn't all that hard, really. Esposito called and asked if I wanted to go for drinks with him and Ryan. Apparently Lanie's been leaving him on his own every Friday night for weeks." He smirked. "We were just talking at the Haunt. It didn't take all that long for us to put two and two together, especially after this case."

They stood on opposite sides of the kitchen now, just eying each other. "So," she sighed, "I hope you're not expecting to be let in on our viewing nights, because it's strictly Lanie and Kate time. No guests."

Rick stepped across the tile floors, took her in his arms. "I," he paused to kiss her, "am perfectly fine with sharing my favorite detective with my favorite medical examiner."

Kate hooked her arms over his shoulders, "Good, because I really didn't want to have to choose."

"Promise me, if I ever turn into that crazy, possessive, can't-let-you-out-of-my-sight boyfriend, you'll shoot me on the spot."

Her smile reached her eyes, "You have my word."

* * *

_Thank you, thank you, thank you! I had no idea people would love these little pieces so much! I'm really having fun with these! So, send me a prompt, or idea, a quote, anything you think would make for good fic. You are all so amazing! _

_Tappin_

_-Reviews make me smile! Please leave me one?_


	5. Getting A Second Opinion

_So, this is a prompt I gave myself. The idea popped into my head, and it turned into this. ENJOY!_

**Prompt: " I'm (not) Nikki Heat."  
**

* * *

She didn't realize that she had – or rather, hadn't – done it until long after she had gotten home that night.

It had been a long day. Their suspect had lead them on a chase through an old, abandoned warehouse. After following the perp up stairs, around corners, down stairs, and through hallways, her team cornered him, and eventually took him down after minutes of high-tension yelling and two stray bullets.

Thank god, no one had been hit.

She had been leaning against the side of her car, watching the boys push their killer into their car, when she heard the words.

A uniform had said it to his buddy. They laughed over it.

The words seemed to play in a loop in her head as she soaked in the tub. "Pretty cool." They nudged elbows, watching from a distance, "Seeing Nikki Heat in action."

She sighed, sinking further down into the water. She'd kick herself if she could. Not a word came out of her when she heard them. Nothing. She just rolled her eyes and waited for the all clear to leave the scene.

Two years ago…one year ago…she would've gone over and straightened those two rookies out.

What happened?

It hit her as she dried off. The brilliant white text, catching her eye from the end table by the bathroom door.

Oh yea, she thought, _he _happened.

Richard freaking Castle.

The thought was still pecking at her brain as she settled into the couch with a bowl of leftover spaghetti. And there they were, all lined up, nice and neat on her bookshelf.

More books. More evidence of him.

She pressed the proverbial 'rewind' button on her memories. Nope. She hadn't argued when Natalie Rhodes said it. Not with Alex Conrad, either. She even vaguely remembered her dad saying something about it at some point, but she just shrugged it off.

When did she start ignoring the suggestion that she _was_ Nikki Heat?

Kate checked the clock – not too late to call. Dinner went forgotten as she reached for her cell phone. The pad of her thumb quickly hit the keys, scrolling down to his number.

He was the only person who knew enough to have a take on this…dilemma.

Hopping up to sit on her kitchen counter, she listened to the dialing, then the low tone of the ring.

"Don't tell me we have another body." His voice was somewhat groggy on the other end of the line. She felt as if she could hear him scrubbing his hand over his face.

"No. No body. I just uh…I need your opinion. Is this a bad time? Because I talk to you about it tomorrow if you want."

"It's cool Beckett. Jenny's out with her sister. I think they're looking for bridal favors."

"Right," she smiled, absently playing with the hem of her shirt, "how's the planning coming along?"

"It's good. We're trying to keep things small, but apparently we know a lot of people who we should probably invite."

"It'll all work out. You two are smart, you'll come up with something that works for everyone you want to include."

He sighed. "I hope so."

"You could always elope."

Air escaped his lips in an irritated puff. "Are you kidding? My mother would steal my gun and shoot me. Geez, Beckett, I didn't know you hated me so much."

She heard a small laugh through the phone. "You know I don't. I want you guys to be happy. Hey, you know if there's ever anything you or Jenny need, you can ask me, right?"

"Absolutely. And don't be surprised if Jenny shows at your apartment one day. I think she's getting a little worn down by her mom and her sister."

"Like I said. Whatever you need, I'm here."

"Thanks, Beckett." There was a pause and she could hear the man who filled a pseudo-brother role shuffling papers around. "You said you had a question?"

She winced. "Yeah. Now…it's a little weird I guess."

"Hey, you're like the sister I never had. If you asked me to go rock climbing with you I'd probably do it. Or…at least be waiting at the bottom with ice. Ask away."

With her lip tucked between her teeth, Kate hopped off the counter and began to pace. "Ok." No more holding back, she thought, just dive in. "Am I Nikki Heat?"

"I'm-I'm sorry," he stuttered, "what?"

"Do you think I'm Nikki Heat?"

"Well, not to sound terribly obvious…but she's fictional, you're not."

"Yeah, I know that…but she's based on _me_, right? I've got to be like her…somehow." This conversation was exasperating. Her thoughts were running around in circles, and it was giving her a headache. Her fingers came up to massage the bridge of her nose.

"I think the more appropriate comparison would be how she's like you."

"And how exactly is that?"

"Well, first of all, she's a cop."

"Thank you for that incredible insight. Now I can see why you're a Detective."

"Shut up," he teased. "Do you want my opinion or not?"

"Only if you can be serious."

"Fine. She's great at what she does. She lives it. Just like you. You don't back down from anything. You don't let the bad guy win. If it weren't for you, and Nikki Heat in the books, there would be people who would never know the truth."

A small hum of interest came from her end of the call. It didn't go unnoticed by Ryan.

"Sure, there's that whole thing with your mom…and Nikki's mom," his voice dropped to a significantly lower, and more reverent volume, "but that's so much a part of why you're you. And…" he hesitated, "I really hope you don't take that the wrong way."

"No.I get it." Her voice was just as solemn.

"Both of you are…strong. I just don't have a better way to put it. I don't know anyone who's as brave as you are, Beckett. Esposito tries, but we all know he's just grasping at straws with that one."

Kate could always count on Ryan to make her laugh. Even when they were stuck on a case he'd be the one to crack a line that would give them a break. Even for a few seconds.

"Seriously Kate. Why do you think people mention it? It's not because she's 'kind of slutty' as Castle claims. And you know, now that I'm thinking about it, Nikki Heat really isn't all that slutty. Especially not in _Naked Heat_. I'm going to have to talk to him about that cover art, because it's really kind of misleading, don't you think?"

"Ryan."

"Yea?"

"The point please?"

"Right! People act like fans because you've given them something to actually _be_ a fan of. Fighting for the truth. Giving people closure, serving justice. There's clearly something in you that makes people…I don't know…feel? Most people look at cops and think that we all put ourselves up on some pedestal. But not you. You treat people like people. And you don't act like you're better, you just do the job." He took a breath. "As hard as I try, I could never be as good a detective as you are."

Kate had stopped pacing and was leaning against her fridge. Her legs were shaking too much to keep pacing.

"Hey Ryan?"

"Yea?" He sounded to her like he was nervous.

"Thanks for being a great friend."

"No need to thank me."

"And for the record, you shouldn't sell yourself so short. You're a pretty spectacular detective."

"Thanks." She could almost hear the smile that she was sure was on his face.

"So…I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Bright and early. One of these days you should tell Castle to bring our coffee, too."

"Hey, I'm the one who's apparently inspiring novels. Get your own coffee. He owes me."

"Sure…because you're totally unaware of all the 'Roach' jokes Esposito and I get…"

"I'll see you tomorrow Ryan. Tell Jenny I said 'hello'."

"Will do."

Smiling, Kate slid her phone shut and plugged it to charge for the night. Sometimes she forgot how great her partners really were.

Tomorrow morning there would be coffee and breakfast waiting on their desks when they walked in.

And Castle wouldn't be the one to deliver it.

* * *

_Yay! New chapter! I hope you liked it! Let me know what you think! Please? And shoot me a prompt if you've got one. I'm not promising how fast I'll get anything written, with exams coming up, but I love being able to think about it. Hopefully I'll have another one up soon! _

_::fingers crossed::_

_Tappin_

_=)_


	6. Dining Discrepancies

**Prompt: Castle loves to eat something that makes everyone else go "ewww" **

**from Duchess of Strumpetness**

**-based on "Punked"**

* * *

Esposito looked on with wide eyes as the girl finished her story. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Your dad's crazy, Alexis, but he's not _that_ crazy" Ryan argued.

She laughed, twirling her spoon around in the soupy remains of her ice cream. "Clearly, you haven't met my dad."

Ryan fiddled with the tip of his straw, pulling the plastic in and out of his thick chocolate shake. "Come on, you're telling me that the man who's written twenty-six-"

"Twenty-seven."

He lifted his hands in surrender to her input. "Sorry. Twenty-seven best-sellers, thought that _that_ would be appetizing."

"Well you better believe it," she smirked, "because he makes it for himself about three times a week. Gram and I refuse to try it again."

Esposito huffed with a laugh, "What made you try it the first time?"

"I was…distracted, and didn't notice what he put in front of me. Before I knew it, I had this absolutely awful taste in my mouth and my hand was flailing around looking for a napkin."

The two detectives looked at each other, still with curious, and disgusted looks on their faces.

"You know, if you guys really don't think I'm telling you the truth I can ask Dad to make you a couple. I'm sure he'd be thrilled." There was a teasing look in her eye as she lifted the glass of water to her lips.

The three were sitting in a corner booth in an old-style ice cream parlor near the precinct. The boys were on their lunch break and, knowing that their favorite teenager was on spring vacation, had decided to treat her to a sundae.

Esposito rolled his classic glass coke bottle between his hands, leaning on the table. "Is this the first time he's done something like this? Because I've heard that random, irrational behavior is a sign of insanity."

"Oh no," she laughed, "this is far from the first time he's tried something like this. I can remember chocolate mouse chimichangas when I was ten, whipped cream and fudge baked ziti when I was seven, and fruit and ice cream sushi, _with _fish, when I was twelve. That's only a few. And don't forget to account for those that I've blocked out of my memory."

As she spoke, dramatic looks of distaste dropped onto the two men's faces. "And he ate all of these?" Ryan was shocked.

"Mhmm." Alexis nodded, "He doesn't see anything wrong with them. I guess it's that wild writer's imagination. Gram and I have come to the decision that, as long as he doesn't force us to eat any, we don't care what he cooks."

"And has Beckett tried any of these creations yet?"

"Hell no!" Her exclamation was met by pointed stares from her pseudo-older brothers. "Guys," she shrugged, "I'm seventeen. Relax. And no, Kate hasn't had any yet. I warned her early on that if she liked her stomach the way it was she should make her own breakfast."

"I can't even imagine what the aftermath would be. She'd probably shoot him in the foot." Esposito chuckled before taking another swig of cola.

"One day last week he made his 'smorlette' again, and whined when she and I refused to have any. He does have a rather impressive pout, I must say."

"Who has an impressive pout?" The familiar voice of her father came around the corner and slid onto the bench beside her.

"Oh, no one. Just this writer I know."

"Hey, I'll have you know, that pout you so teasingly speak of, has been rather useful in times of need."

"Don't flatter yourself, Castle." Detective Kate Beckett walked over, sliding in next to the writer. "And that pout? Not as attractive as you think."

He leaned over, one arm still wrapped around his daughter's shoulders, his face inches from Beckett's. "I dare you say that to me again, later."

"Castle," she snapped her fingers in his face, "public place. Daughter and co-workers at the table. Keep your thoughts to yourself."

Without another word he had turned back and stole a bite of his daughter's ever-melting banana split.

"What are you guys doing here?" Ryan asked.

Beckett popped the top of the soda she had bought on the way in. "We finished early so we thought we'd meet you guys."

Esposito's brow lifted at the statement. "So, how's the shooting going, Castle?"

"Getting better." He nodded, then twisted his face up in confusion, "I think." He turned to look at Beckett. "I don't know, am I getting better?"

"Let me put it this way," she made sure she had the attention of everyone at the table before continuing, "he's really good at shoulder wounds. And should his potential attacker be male, they better not have hopes of ever having children."

"Well, at least that's something? Right, Dad?"

"Absolutely!" He pressed a kiss to the top of his girl's head. "And just what are you three chatting about?"

"Lex was just telling us about your cooking escapades." Ryan couldn't help but smirk as he addressed his friend.

Esposito shot a look to their friend. "We've determined that you're disgusting, Castle. I pity your taste buds."

"Hey! I happen to think I make excellent creative decisions when it comes to my cooking."

Beside him, Beckett was having a hard time holding in her laughter. "Yeah, if you want to repulse your friends," she muttered.

Castle's head tilted, irritated, in her direction. "And have you ever actually _tried_ my dishes Miss Beckett?"

There was a loud 'thump' to his arms from both sides. "Shut up, Castle. Just the sight of marshmallows and eggs in one pan is enough to make one flee the scene. And don't call me 'Miss Beckett'."

"Fine." He huffed. "That just means more for me. But I'll remember this conversation. I see what my friends think of my ingenuity." He whined, "you've even turned my own daughter against me. My own flesh and blood." He feigned chest pains, pressing his palm against the side of Alexis' head.

The girl pushed him away with a laugh. "Please Dad, I've been against your 'special creations' for years. All on my own decisions."

"Years?" He was shocked. "And you've been lying to me?"

Daughter pointed a smirk at her father, leaning into his side. "Don't worry, Dad, I love you anyway."

Twin, 'awws' came from Ryan and Esposito. "See, Castle," Ryan said, "as long as you keep your creations to yourself, we're all good."

Castle stole a spoonful of melted ice cream from his daughter's bowl. "I guess I'll just have to deal with that." He laughed, watching out of the corner of his eye as Beckett brought back two scoops of chocolate ice cream for the two of them.

She sat down again, sitting a little closer to his side than usual. This was a new development, something only the people at the table with them, plus Lanie, knew about.

They were…exploring, as Kate called it.

And he was enjoying every minute of it.

"But," Esposito added in, "if you _ever_ convince Beckett here to try something, we want details."

"You know you guys are really nosy right?" Kate smiled. "I don't ask for a report of your meals."

"But we aren't sharing them with Castle," Esposito argued back, "logically, that makes our meals far less entertaining."

She rolled her eyes at her partner, returning to her ice cream. "I'll be sure to keep you in the loop then."

The entire table erupted in laughter, each resolving to suck up the last bits of their treats.

"You know," Castle piped up, holding up a spoonful of rich chocolate ice cream, "if we added some bacon to this…"

A napkin came soaring across the table, hitting him in the forehead.

Loudly, the four other people at the table yelled at him to shut up.

"Kidding!" He held up his arms in a protective shield over his face. "I was kidding!"

* * *

_Yay! I finally updated! Your reward for me getting through half of my exams! I really wasn't sure what to do with this prompt, so, this kind of came to life. I have no explanation whatsoever as to where it came from. It just kinda happened. And thanks to ajksmusic for helping with the ending. _

_I hope you like it! Let me know what you think!_

_-Tappin_


	7. Fact or Fiction?

Rick Castle rubbed his hand along his jaw as he leaned back into his desk chair. It had been a long day. He loyally followed Beckett all the way around town interviewing family members and suspects, finally doubling back not two hours ago, after discovering that the victim's brother had been fed up with his sister spending their joint trust fund on her medically unstable son.

With a sigh, he brought his laptop to rest on his knees, and opened a new document. He needed to clear his head. A little writing would do the trick.

_The blazing New York sun had faded to the dim glow of a July evening by the time Rook walked through the door of his uptown loft. He was exhausted. He could practically feel his limbs losing steam. Deciding that it was too late in the day to do real reporting, but too early to sleep, he opted for his trusty laptop a glass of whiskey. He envied the sweat slowly sinking down the side of the glass, leaving a wet ring on his desktop. Why did the condensation get to relax?_

Castle eyed the Jameson's Irish whiskey sitting atop his desk calendar, admiring the totally intentional parallel in his alter ego's world.

_The reporter furiously copied down notes of his adventures with Nikki, in an attempt to savor every memory he had with the detective. Just as he was about to finish up, only a couple of main points remaining to be written down, his phone rang. He peered over to where his phone rested down on the floor. 'Heat', the screen read._

'_Rook,' he answered. _

'_It's me.' _

'_You do know that I have caller ID?'_

'_Stop being a smartass, I'm trying to be nice.'_

'_Oh?'_

'_Yeah. I just wanted to make sure you-'_

The ringing of his cell phone – to the Wonder Woman theme – broke his train of typing. He looked down to where his phone was nestled in his shag rug.

Beckett.

That was creepy.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Detective?"

"Shut up, Castle. I was trying to be nice when I picked up the phone, and you're making me question myself."

"Oh, really?"

"Look," he heard her sigh, "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I know today was tough."

This was weird.

"Yeah," he nodded, even though she couldn't see him, "I'm alright." Both callers paused, only the sounds of their breathing echoing through the line. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Castle. And I wanted to let you know that I won't be in until about ten tomorrow, so you don't have to rush or anything in the morning."

"Got it."

"Okay then."

"So, until tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow, Castle."

As he hung up the phone he looked at the words written on the screen. Shaking his head, he saved the document. It was too weird.

He was tired. That's exactly what it was. He needed to sleep, he told himself.

With that, he packed his laptop in a briefcase, intent on getting more writing done at the precinct. He knew full well that the detectives would be doing paperwork anyway.

* * *

Beckett still hadn't gotten to her desk when he was sitting down to his chair. Obviously, she was somewhere in the building – her belongings were in their place – but she was missing.

Not wanting to waste any more time, he cracked open his laptop, thinking about plot points while it booted up. Alexis's smiling face greeted him at his desktop, and he double-clicked open his document from the night before.

_Content in the silence of the moment, Rook tapped away at his keys, wondering where Detective Heat was. It was unusual for her to be gone for so long._

_When she finally reappeared at her desk, he looked up, noting the irritated look on her face._

"_What's up?" The reporter quipped._

"_The Captain wanted to let me know that our last case piqued the Mayor's attention."_

"_Isn't that a good thing?"_

"_Not when it means I have to sit and play nicey-nice with some reporter who wants to fluff up and exaggerate the details just to get her article on the front page."_

"_Hey!" He shot, "I'm a reporter."_

_Heat threw daggers at him with her eyes. "Shut it, Rook. I'm not in the mood." The detective paused. "But, sometimes you're not so bad...for a reporter."_

The distinctive click of Beckett's heels approached. Quickly, he hit the auto-save on his document, looked up to greet her.

"Morning, Beckett. What's up? Usually you're here before me."

"I was here before you, Castle. I got called into a meeting." Her tone had that distinctive taste of irritation to it.

"'Bout what?" He smugly folded his hands across the keys of his Dell.

"The Mayor heard about our last case and wants us to do press for it."

What was this, Castle thought. Couldn't be. He was just projecting his thoughts.

"Oh?"

"Yes." She snapped. "Apparently some reporter from the Ledger will be here in an hour to interview us."

"Oh!" He exclaimed. "I wonder if it's anyone I know. I've interviewed with, I'm sure, most of the Leger's staff right now. For….various reasons."

She sighed, "I'm sure you have."

"Why is it such a chore for you? It's just talking. You talk to people all the time."

Beckett let her arm fall from its position holding up her head, to rest on her desk. She looked at him with a fire in her eyes. "I don't like talking to reporters because I've found that most of the time all they care about is getting their name on the front page. It shouldn't be about _them_, the stories should be about the victims. The ones that are gone and the ones that are still here."

A silence blanketed the room. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed. I sometimes forget that not everyone likes to talk as much as I do."

"Thank you, Castle." He watched as she nervously tapped her pen against the edge of the file she was flipping through. "Sometimes I kind of like how much you talk though."

The bullpen was beginning to fill in for the day, so Castle didn't want to draw attention to them. Did he really hear what he thought he heard? Did Kate Beckett actually complement him, Richard Castle?

Again, he looked down at his laptop's screen. Forgetting about what he had started earlier, he hit the 'enter' key a couple of times, beginning a new paragraph. Let's deviate from the norm a bit, he told himself.

_Rook watched from the edge of Nikki's desk as she concentrated on the report in front of her. He could see the tension on her face, in the form of the adorable line between her brows that he loved so much. She looked up on a breath, smiling at him, just barely, before going back to her work. _

Rick heard Beckett let out a heavy breath and looked up. Surprisingly, he was looking at her, and she was smiling. Just. Barely.

His eyes darted back to the electronic document. His right pinky instantly tapped the 'enter' key a few more times once the detective had looked back at her paperwork.

Surely he was imagining things.

_The boredom was nearly unbearable. All of the officers were mulling around, doing nonsense work just to pass the time. Before Rook realized it, they had all left, the only ones left being himself and Heat, and Roach. _

The writer looked up.

Yup. Only he, Beckett, and Ryan and Esposito were left.

_Rook looked down at his watch to find that it was nearly lunch. Usually, none of the detectives made an effort to eat at a normal time, however, Raley and Ochoa stood today, pulling on their jackets. _

'_Yo, Heat. We're going down to grab a burger. You want something?'_

_Nikki looked up at her partners. 'No thanks, guys. I'd rather just get this work done.'_

He had barely finished the ending punctuation when he heard the roll of two desk chairs on the worn precinct floor.

"Yo, Beckett," Esposito called, "we're heading down to grab a burger. You want anything?"

Beckett looked up to find the boys pulling on their jackets and heading for the elevator. "Nope. I'm good. I want to get this work done."

Alright, Castle told himself, it wasn't _exact_, but it was pretty damn close.

He tapped his index fingers lightly against the 'F' and the 'J', just thinking about what to try next.

What the hell? If he was going to see if he was right – really right, not just suffering from a long line of eerie coincidences – he had to do something drastic.

_Once they were alone the two could fully focus on each other. Nikki's free left hand moved, slowly, closer and closer to the edge of the desk, until it finally dropped below the top and came to rest on his knee. Her long nails began do draw gentle circles on his pants. Rook thought he could feel the gesture in his bones. _

'_You know, Rook, we're alone now.' Her voice had a musical quality whenever it was just the two of them. He had never heard it in the precinct, and it intrigued him._

'_Indeed we are, Detective. It doesn't happen very often.'_

_With one push, she had rolled her chair right up next to his. Now their knees were touching. A low moan came from her throat. 'No,' she reached out to caress his cheek, 'it certainly doesn't.' _

_Rook turned his head to press a kiss to her strong, cop fingers. _

_She smiled as she spoke, 'We should take advantage of the opportunity.' _

_Before Rook could form a response her lips were on his. Whenever the two of them were together he felt a new spark, a new passion. But this was a different experience entirely. Thoughts of Nikki swam through his head as they battled for dominance. _

_He sat in stunned silence after they broke apart. Watching in awe as she pulled her chair back over, and went right back to work. _

_She was Detective Nikki Heat. And she had rendered Jameson Rook speechless. _

Sure enough, as soon as he finished the sentence, he felt a familiar hand on his kneecap. Well, not quite so familiar as he would like. But this meant he wasn't entirely crazy.

"Looks like we're alone, Castle."

"Why yes, we are, Detective. It doesn't happen very often."

She tapped the toe of her boot against her desk, pushing her chair close to his.

Their knees were touching. All that stood between their skins were two layers of fabric.

Her warm, soft hand was on his face, her thumb gently rubbing back and forth. "No, it doesn't." Their eyes met in an unspoken conversation. He could lose himself in her eyes, never quite being able to figure out a name for their color.

He heard her voice, but felt as if there was cotton in his ears. "We should take advantage of this chance."

A sound that was something between agreement and confusion escaped his lips mere seconds before he felt her lips on his.

There was something so unique about her. He couldn't figure it out. Richard Castle was a man who had kissed a lot of women, a lot of sets of lips. But, Kate Beckett's lips were something else.

She was right when she told him all those cases ago that he had no idea. He couldn't even begin to guess.

What he was experiencing right now was altogether incredible. 'Extraordinary' no longer felt like an adequate adjective to describe the woman who was now basically in his lap.

All too soon the moment had passed, and he felt her push back off from his chair, bringing hers back to its place at her desk.

Detective Kate Beckett left Richard Castle paralyzed in his seat.

His hands nearly shook as he brought his laptop back to his knees. He looked down at the document he had opened before, utterly astonished.

It was blank.

Shaking his head, he tried to figure it all out. He had written it. He wrote it and it came true. He could still feel her lip-gloss on his lips. But the words were gone.

He frantically hit the 'undo' button in the menu, to no avail.

What the hell happened?

He broke his focus, looking up to find the detective gone.

"Castle?" He could hear her voice in the distance.

"CASTLE!"

His whole body shook at her exclamation. He had fallen out of his chair. When he opened his eyes, he was on the floor of his office.

On the floor of his office?

Beckett's voice could be heard yelling through the speaker on the phone. He nervously reached for it as he sat up against the side of his desk.

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure you're okay, Castle? I was calling to make sure you're alright. One minute you were answering your phone, then you just zoned out on me."

Blinking he looked around. Yes, he was in his office, alright. Not the 12th. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, …what happened again?"

"Our suspect, the victim's brother, pushed you into a wall and you hit your head pretty hard. You don't remember?"

"No. I – sorta. I think?" He sighed. "I guess I was having a really…_really_ vivid hallucination."

"Castle you're supposed to be in bed. The doctor told you that could happen."

"Yeah, well, he wasn't kidding."

"How bad a hallucination?" He was surprised to hear how genuinely worried she sounded.

"You probably don't want to know. I think I'm just going to get myself into bed, where I'm apparently supposed to be."

"Yeah," she agreed, "you do that. Call me if you need anything? I know you said Alexis and your mother will be gone until tomorrow."

"I will."

"Good."

"And Kate?"

"Yeah, Castle?"

"Thanks for checking on me. I'm glad you've got my back."

"Of course, you know I just like to avoid paperwork."

With a laugh they hung up, and Rick found his head throbbing. Maybe he really did hit his head. He gripped the edge of the desk, hoisting himself to his feet.

Just as he was about to move into his bedroom, he noticed his laptop sitting open. Even with his semi-blurred vision he could make out that he had typed something in the document.

He braced himself with both hands after finding his legs a little more shaky than he would've liked.

Squinting, he leaned down to read the size 12, black words.

"_And Nikki?"_

"_Yeah, Rook?"_

"_Thanks for checking on me. I'm glad you've got my back._

"_Always."  
_

* * *

Thank **toepad** for this one. She had the original idea and I fell in love with it. I really had fun writing it, even though it took a while. I'm surprisingly happy with the way it turned out. I hope you all love it as much as I do. Drop me a line! And if you have an idea, or prompt, or quote, or whatever, let me know!

_Tappin_


	8. Healing Together

_Truth is, I'm actually rather fond of the way this turned out. The prompt came from **toepad** again, cause she's that awesome and makes me think. It's a little post-finale viginette, let's say, a month after the infamous instance. I hope it comes off as in-character, and I hope you enjoy it!_

* * *

Jim Beckett cast a curious eye upon his daughter as she moved slowly about her apartment. Her mobility had swiftly improved, the slight limp of her right side was nearly unnoticeable now. Had he not been intentionally looking for it, he probably wouldn't have given the tiny jerk of her side a second thought.

She was thinner, albeit eating whatever she could find. He wouldn't say she was 'frail' per say, but he was definitely worried that any large gust of wind coming off the back of a passing truck would bowl her over.

She assured him it was all muscle. Strengthened by her constant approved workout sessions.

After 'the incident', he moved into her apartment. His daughter needed a helping hand, and though she would never ask for it, she had held his hand rather tightly when her doctor informed her that she was not allowed to live alone for at least a month.

"Shit!"

He looked up from the newspaper resting in his hands to see her hobbling to the sofa.

"Katie," he did his best not to sound too worried, "are you sure you're up for this?"

"Yeah," she sighed, rubbing her foot. "It's nothing, I just stubbed my toe on the damned coffee table."

"Do you want some ice?"

She was still inspecting the side of her left foot, her knee twisted across her lap. "No. No, it just surprised me, I guess." When she looked up, she let out a breath of frustration. "I wasn't expecting it to hurt so much."

"Well, your meds were rather strong for a while, and you've only really been on the mild stuff for a week. And they did tell you you'd be a bit more prone to bruising."

"Yeah, well," she held up her leg for him to see, "they were right."

Sure enough, the littlest toe on her left foot had all ready swelled up a bit, and had turned a rather impressive shade of purple.

"You want me to take you to the emergency-?"

"No." She stood, carefully. Then, made her way back to her bedroom to swap the pair of pumps she originally intended on wearing for a laid back pair of sandals. "I'll be fine. I'll ice it when I get back. I shouldn't be too long, we're just meeting for coffee and to talk."

"And you're absolutely sure that this is a good idea?"

She questioned him as she re-entered the living room, picking up her purse. "Why wouldn't it be?" It wasn't cool outside at all, so, a jacket wasn't an option. Instead, she reached into the closet between her living room and kitchen and pulled a thinner grey cardigan to pair with her black tank top and shorts.

"It's just, I don't want you to get too stressed out. It's not healthy, even for people who _aren't_ recovering from a gunshot."

"I'll be perfectly fine Dad." She kissed him on the cheek as she headed for the door. "Besides, it's just Alexis, and I haven't seen her in a while."

"Alright." Sighing, he picked up his paper again. "But you call me if you need me, you hear?"

"Got it!" She called, already halfway to the elevator.

* * *

"Dad, will you relax?" Alexis begged as she skipped down the stairs. "It's just coffee."

He pleaded with his hands, following behind her. "But it's coffee with Beckett! And I haven't seen her in a while."

"You went over to see her last week!"

"Come on! Why do you have to use logic again? Can't you just let me be dramatic for once?"

Alexis spun on her heel, on the bottom step, to look up at her father. "Dad. Seriously? It's no big deal."

"Then why can't I come with you?"

"Because," she groaned, "whenever you're around you kind of…dominate the conversation, and I have something to talk to Kate about."

"I shouldn't be worried, should I?" It always made her giggle when that little spark of fear crept into his voice.

"No Dad." Now at the front door, she turned, placing her free hand on his shoulder. "Besides, just like Kate would like a little time away from her father, I could use some time away from mine." With a grin she hopped up on her tiptoes, pecking him on the cheek.

She all but flew out the door, and he had to jump to lean into the hall and call after her.

"Very funny! I'll remember that when you come crawling back here later begging for me to leave you alone to study!"

She turned, eyeing him teasingly from inside the elevator. "Love you, Dad!"

"Love you, too!" He yelled, just as the mirrored doors slid shut.

* * *

"Hey." Kate sighed, coming to rest across from Alexis at a corner table.

"Hey." The reply came rather short. And slightly awkward if Kate was completely honest with the situation.

"So, um…did you order anything yet?"

"Oh!" She seemed startled. "Yeah. The barista said he'd make the order when you got here and then bring it over. You still like the lemon loaf, right?"

Kate smiled. "You know it!" She turned, and sure enough a young guy was putting their order together. "So what've you been up to since I last saw you?"

Alexis nervously threaded her fingers together and apart again. "Not much." She sighed. "I'm taking Intro To Psychology online, just to get a head start on my college track, so that takes up a lot of time. I've been doing a lot of practicing on my violin. Pretty much just trying to stay busy so that Dad doesn't drag me off, god-knows-where."

"Trust me, I completely understand. The only difference is, I would love to go _out_ and do things, and my dad makes me stay put."

Just then the barista walked over with two cups and two plates. "One Skinny Vanilla, one Cinnamon Dolce, and two slices of lemon loaf?"

They both nodded, passing napkins and plates across the table.

"Well, you need that right now, right? The rest, I mean?"

Kate took a long drag from her steaming cup before answering. "There's a line between what I need to stay healthy, and what I need to stay sane. And that line gets thinner and thinner everyday."

"I guess I see your point." The each picked at hunks of cake for a few minutes, taking sips of their drinks here and there, before Kate probed her any further.

"Are you alright Alexis? You seem a little off."

"Yeah. I'm fine. I just…needed time out. Dad's driving me crazy. He never leaves me alone anymore to do what I need to do. Or breathe." She paused for a refreshing take from her cup. "I'm lucky he didn't follow me here."

"Why's he so clingy?" She asked, totally without giving it deeper thought. "I thought he has a deadline coming up.

"He does. And it's not like he's not writing. I mean, he writes late at night a lot, I think, and whenever I make him go away he sulks off to his office, so I assume that's what he's doing, since Gina hasn't called recently."

Alexis fingered nervously at the edge of the plate in front of her. When she looked up, Kate could see the glassy sheen to her fair eyes, really see the thin, red lines of fatigue around the edges.

"He misses you. Working with you?"

Instantly Kate's eyes darted downwards. "Oh." The air she tried to pull into her lungs suddenly weighed a ton. "It's been a long month for everyone. It'll just take some time."

"Yeah." It hurt Kate to hear Alexis's voice sound so small.

"Alexis, be honest with me." She reached across the table and grabbed the young woman's hand. It felt terribly cool for the middle of July. "How are _you_? And don't tell me you're fine."

"It's just hard." She had to swallow a lump in her throat to keep going. "I was actually there. So I saw it, you know?"

Kate nodded.

"And I watched the ambulance get there, and I watched it leave. And we all sat in the waiting room together, so I was never really alone, but-"

"It's very easy to feel alone when you're surrounded by people."

"Yeah," her eyes were starting to well up, and she had to sniff back the wall threatening to overflow. "I know that it sounds really, horribly, terribly selfish of me, but no one ever paid attention to me. God! I hate how that sounds, because you were the one who needed the attention!"

"Alexis, I don't want you to feel bad about needed to feel loved. Believe me, I absolutely _hate_ that you had to go through all of this crap because I had to go and get myself shot."

"Kate, don't say that."

"But it's true. I really wasn't 'there' for those first few days after the fact, so I have no idea what went on. I…can't even imagine how hard it had to be for you, caught in the midst of your dad, and cops, and…a medical examiner."

"I sat with you once or twice. I don't know if anyone told you that?"

"No," she whispered. "They only told me that there was always someone there."

"Well, I don't remember when, but Lanie and Esposito had gone home to change, and Ryan had taken Jenny to go visit her mother while he was busy. I think Gram had finally coerced Dad into going to eat, so I offered to stay." She took an unusually long drink, savoring the silence. "All I had to do was just sit there and watch you. Just watch you breathe, and that's it."

"That's the hardest part, I think." Kate spoke ever so softly, their hands still tied together. "That that's all there is. Breathing."

"Mhmm." Now, Alexis could barely contain her sobs, and couldn't care less that they were in the middle of a very busy Starbucks. "I wanted to talk to you so badly. I wanted you to just wake up and tell me that everything would be okay."

"Alexis, you have no idea how much I want to be able to promise you that." She passed her a napkin to wipe her eyes with. "But, I can't in good conscience, do that. And I think you know that."

"Uh-huh." She sniffed. "I know. But it still hurts." Her voice was coming out thick and raspy. Proof of just how much she had been holding in up until now.

"I know it hurts. It makes you wonder why it's worth it to care. But, I guess that's the price we pay for love, huh?" They nodded in agreement, warily pushing empty cups around in circles. "But, hey!" Kate waited until she had eye contact again, "I can promise you this: As long as I'm able to yell at your dad for ticking me off," thankfully, that garnered a smile, "I will be here for you for whatever you need me for."

"Thanks, Kate," she whispered.

"Especially if 'whatever you need' entails punishing your dad for being his irritating self."

They laughed together. Each savoring the fantastic sound.

"Come on," Kate stood, and after dumping their trash extended her arm for Alexis, "we should probably get home before our dad's send out search parties."

"Good idea. Knowing them, they'd probably wire us for GPS if they could, too."

"Hey," Kate hip checked her young counterpart as they stepped out onto the street, "I'm safe, mine can't afford that kind of technology."

"So, you're gonna leave me to fend for myself against the most paranoid, geeked-out dad in the city? Thanks a lot."

"Are you kidding me? All I have to do is teach you how to properly twist his year and you'll be set for life."

Thin strains of giggles escaped as they walked the couple blocks to Kate's building. When they reached it, they stood on the curb, ready to hail a cab to take Alexis back uptown.

"Thanks, Kate." Before she knew what had hit her, Alexis was wrapping her arms around her middle, tightly, yet mindful of the ache that still resided low in her chest. "I really needed that."

"Anytime, Alexis." Her arms came around to return the sentiment, "I'm glad you can come to me with the tough stuff. Don't wait so long next time, okay?"

They smiled, pulling apart. "Well," Alexis started, "I for one am hoping you don't get shot again, so that there won't exactly be a 'next time'."

"Me too," She pushed a strand of the girl's red hair behind her shoulder, "But I think you know what I mean."

"I do." She nodded. "I'll text you later? I can tell you about the chapter I just read about criminal psych?"

"Absolutely. I'm looking forward to it."

"Great!"

Kate leaned against the side of her building, watching as Alexis got in a cab and drove off. The little afternoon break helped her too, she realized. Looking down at her feet, she took stock of her toe. It was still sore, sure, but the swelling had gone down, and the bruise had faded.

Just another one of those things that took some time to heal.

* * *

_Ta-da! Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!_

_**Tappin**_


	9. Just Out Of Reach

_A little late night writing between chapters of a boring history book. "To Shatter Illusions" will be coming, as well as another chapter of my Lanie/Beckett fic "Perfect Matches". For now, I hope you enjoy this little spurt of fun.  
_

_Disclaimer: Castle belongs to the brilliantly torturous Andrew Marlowe. Not me. _

* * *

There was a thief in the 12th precinct.

Possibly _thieves_.

For weeks now Kate's candy was disappearing from her desk, and it was really starting to piss her off. That candy was _hers_. She didn't even let Castle touch it. The sugar was a lifeline, almost as important as her coffee.

It didn't matter if it was M&Ms, Reeses Pieces, or Skittles. The little glass dish she kept on her desk would be full at the start of her shift, and empty by the end. She sure as hell knew she wasn't the one eating it all. And if she was investing so much money in candy companies, she was damn well going to reap the benefits.

Kate tried taking the dish away. She took the little glass piece home, finding a new home for it on an end table in her living room, and started keeping a Ziploc bag of treats locked in her bottom desk drawer.

But someone, the _thief_ – _thieves?_– picked the lock.

That irritating little voice in her head reminded her that she couldn't ask for security footage. The guys in tech knew she was absolutely useless when it came to anything with electronic characteristics – that was Ryan's department. And she couldn't get away with dusting her own desk for fingerprints without looking like an absolute loon.

She spent the evening thinking, coming up with a plan, so that on the rare afternoon where she was essentially alone in the bullpen she was able to go scout out what she planned to be the perfect hiding spot.

With the plastic bag hidden in her purse she marched into the break room. It was no mystery that she was the tallest one in homicide, maybe a few uniforms were about her height, and of course there was Castle – but they didn't count. This was pertinent to her plan, for she knew that the top shelves in the cabinets were empty for that reason.

Quickly and carefully she took the empty box that had been sitting and dumped out the few pieces of dust and paper shreddings. It was the exact right sized box – from an order of replacement staples – her candy stash fit in perfectly. As soon as her treasure was hidden, she opened the counter farthest from the door, and lifted her arms to shove the box up, in the corner. The height only barely required her to get on her toes.

Perfect.

She walked out of the break room, hiding all evidence of the concealment from her face.

Gates walked past her, glasses perched on her nose, her eyes buried in a report. "Good afternoon, Beckett."

"Sir." She nodded with a polite smile as she walked back to her desk. Sure, she thought, she'd have to be a little sneakier about _when_ she went to enjoy her candy. But this way she was ensuring that her candy would _stay_ hers.

* * *

"Dude," Ryan shifted from right foot to left, arms folded across his chest, as he stood next to his partner, "we're so busted."

"No way man." Esposito argued. "No way she knows it was us."

"Well, now we've got to get our own. There's no chance of us getting any _now_. Not after that."

The two stood in the hall between the elevator and their desks. Their boss didn't know it, but they saw her every move going into and coming out of the break room, and everything in between. There were, after all, windows everywhere.

"Hey Castle!" Esposito caught the writer's attention before he could turn the corner to head into the bullpen.

"Hey," he strode up to the pair of detectives, two coffee cups in hand, "what's up?"

"You want to do us a favor?" Esposito inquired. "We promise to share some with you."

"First of all, share what? Second, it depends on what the favor is. Living and working with women my whole life has taught me to hear the deal before I accept it."

Ryan turned to stand with his back turned to Beckett, hiding his face. Just in case she could read lips. "Beckett hid her candy stash."

"Oh," he exclaimed, "and you want me to find out where she moved it to."

"No," Ryan stopped him. "We know where it is."

"Then why do you need me?"

This time Esposito stepped back in, "We can't reach it. Beckett went all Amazonian on us and hid it in the top of one of the cabinets."

"Seriously?" Ricks face fell blank. "I know better than to do something that'll get my hands chopped off. In case you forgot, they're kind of crucial to writing."

"Really, Castle? Because you're here an awful lot, have you written anything lately?" Esposito ribbed, unable to resist the opening to say something about Castle's constant presence.

"Anyway," Castle pushed back, "If you want it that badly, pull up a chair to stand on." He turned to start walking to Beckett's desk, leaving the two detectives dumbfounded behind him, "And maybe you'll be smart enough not to get caught next time."

* * *

_So, this was inspired partially by what happened to me this morning. My roommates left the coffee filters in the absolute highest spot in one of our kitchen cabinets. It's important to note that I'm the shortest of the four of us, at 5 foot 1, so, I COULD NOT reach them for anything. I had to stand on a stool, and it still took some jumping to get them down. Yes, I am that short. I also wanted coffee that badly. Later, ajksmusic suggested when I mentioned it - "what if that happened in the precinct?" - and this idea struck._

_The other inspiration for this is the IN DEATH series by JD Robb. If you read them, you'll understand it perfectly. I'm sorry if you don't. But you should read the books, they're fantastic. _

_Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!_


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